Well yes it's long, but they asked for it....:)
Dear Editor:
    Your article was full of the real sadness that women can experience when
they are unable to get the support they need for breastfeeding to suceed for
both mother and baby, but it nowhere offered these mothers the support they
might be seeking so that it does not have to fail in the first place. There
will always be women who choose not to nurse their children, but for the many
who would like to try, your article offered them the idea that breastfeeding
is full of pain and frustration, and really confers little benefit. Somehow
managing to be both condescending and misinformed at the same time, this
article never mentions the real risks of not breastfeeding to all babies no
matter where they live - it glosses over the pain and health care costs of
significant increases in middle ear infections, gastroenteritis, etc,  as
though since in the US they are not always life-threatening, then they are
but small troubles to be borne by the family of the nonbreastfed infant. This
article is full of  dire reports, inferring that the sometimes frustrating,
or even painful, but usually transient and solvable challenges of
breastfeeding , are tantamount to certain breastfeeding failure. It never
mentions that most of the specific reasons you state that lead mothers to
quit in frustration are often preventable, and only rarely, not able to be
turned around. It also lacks any positive suggestions for either book-,
computer-, or people-based resources to help a mother avoid many of the
problems ignorantly, and sadly assumed to be a "normal" part of some "ancient
ritual" to be tackled by some strong and stubborn few. There are good books,
online resources, support groups, and health professionals trained to assist
those mothers who wish to nurse. A mother might actually seek these out if
your article helped them learn where to look. Pointing the finger at managed
care is telling, but alternatives should be offered as well, since there are
many. Your article will no doubt succeed in scaring away mothers considering
nursing, and will be of no assistance to those who are already attempting to
find help to deal with their own current questions or concerns. For the
majority of health professionals and support people who work with nursing
families, the truth about breastfeeding and the challenges of parenting in
general, there are no pat answers. Modern medicine can save lives, but it
can also make breastfeeding much more of a challenge than it might be
otherwise. Apparently, and unfortuntately, the same can be said of modern
reporting, and articles like this one.
Judy LeVan Fram, Brooklyn, NY

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